Ignore the Numbers and Ditch the Scales.

Weight. It’s a complex issue and I think we often oversimplify it. I can be guilty of this too. Working in weight management and eating disorders has shown me that the numbers on the scales do not always do what you expect them to do.

You may be eating enough for weight gain and just not see it and vice versa for weight loss. I find it can be very confusing for people when they know they should have lost/gained weight and yet the scales say they have maintained. So let’s think it through.

The body does not work in days or weeks like we do. I always advise people if they weigh themselves to stick to once a week on the same day at around the same time. It could be a couple of days later and you will get a different reading.

Sometime there is a lag phase where your body takes a while to adjust and realise you’ve changed your dietary intake.

Weight is not just determined by what you eat. Your hormones, fluid intake and the time of the day can play a role too amongst other things. You will weigh more at the end of the day, when you have your monthly cycle and when you drink more.

Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are exercising more you may be building muscle and weigh more.

So let’s not focus on the individual numbers too much. Instead look at the trend over a few weigh-ins or if you are trying to lose weight why not think about ditching the scales and look at waist circumference measurements and how your clothes fit. I have one client who has to have her clothes taken in each time she visits the tailor which is a sure sign things are going the right way!